Crazy Infographic Shows How Deadly Superbugs Will Be In The Post-Antibiotic Era

The MRSA Superbug. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Flickr Doctors and pharmacists give them out for everything from undiagnosed to mild infections. Farmers across the globe sprinkle them in their animal feed. Antibiotics are everywhere, whether we need them or not.

That number is set to grow exponentially in coming years, so long as our fervent overuse of antibiotics continues to climb.

Doctors commonly treat bacterial infections with antibiotics. When one drug doesn't work, they try another. These techniques are dangerous because the bacteria that can resist the antibiotic are more likely to survive it and pass on their resistance genes.

Over time, the bacteria evolve, becoming more and more resistant to our drugs. As a result, some common infections can resist even our strongest antibiotics.

Here's what that could look like in the future, when antibiotic-resistant bacteria will kill more people than cancer every year:

Healthcare Infection Society UKIt's a scary scenario, but it's already beginning to take shape. Between 2000 and 2010, international sales of antibiotics for human use shot up 40%, the report found, with Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa making up three-quarters of that increase.